Sam Fender has given the entirety of his £25,000 honor winnings to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots music venues.
Fender was awarded the cheque on mid-October as his latest record his work was named the best record of the past year.
He has chosen to hand the money over to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part small stages had in his beginning days.
"I personally couldn't be pursuing my current career if it wasn't for all the gigs I performed around the area, and beyond, when I was just getting going," said Fender. "These venues are renowned, but they are facing challenges."
Beginning in 2023, over 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – approximately 16 percent of the entire UK sector.
Over the past year, major artists such as Pulp, Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all supported the trust in its attempts to support the industry, by including a small levy to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.
He also joined in, collecting more than £100,000 on his live tour to support thirty-eight grassroots venues across Britain.
These funds supported venues that were confronting imminent closure due to difficulties arising from flooding, fires and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and neighbor objections.
Other venues were granted monetary aid in modernizing infrastructure and gear that positively impacted artists and concertgoers.
"The idea that revenue from concerts in large arenas backs the independent spots, where it all starts for musicians like me, is just logical," Fender has stated.
He is among several artists to give his Mercury Prize funds to good deeds.
Back when the band earned the award in 1996 for their album the album, frontman Cocker stated that the group would donate their cash to the non-profit the charity.
That year, rapper and singer she divided her award across multiple charities, such as the NSPCC and a charity for Sickle Cell.
"I also donated a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was younger and they required updated gear," Ms Dynamite shared with a publication.
Previously, they donated their prize money to the youth organization that nurtured their group, as well as other local music groups.
Also the 1994 recipients M People contributed their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a friend was identified with the illness.
"The victory was sufficient," remarked vocalist Heather Small. "The cash was the bonus but we didn't need the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted somebody else's life."
In the past week, the trust revealed it had protected a couple of local spots in south-east England, by placing them under community ownership.
The first in Southampton and The Croft in the city were bought under the Own Our Venues scheme, which is backed by a national body and supporters who buy "ownership units" in the venues.
